Maximizing social return in the banking sector

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to show that there are other options for a firm (or a bank) than just following the mainstream logic of maximizing financial profits. This is the case of the so‐called “social banks”, which appeared in the mid‐1980s. Unlike the “financial green‐washing” of traditional banks, social banks have shown in their everyday practice that a bank can still be a competitive institution whilst committing wholeheartedly to the concept of sustainable development.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis compares social banks to traditional universal banks at two levels: analysis of what they say, namely by looking at their annual report; and analysis of what they do, namely by looking at their activities as reflected in their balance sheet.FindingsConcerning traditional banks, there is a major gap between what they say and what they do, whereas social banks are much more consistent in this regard. This is simply because social banks have put in place a different organization and different management structures and, overall, because they apply a different business model.Originality/valueAll banks are not the same. Beyond the “declarative ethics”, the methodology used in this paper helps to make the difference among them by using concrete evidence for measuring their “social added value”.

Greenwash and Green Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Green Skepticism

“…In the previous literature, there have been many studies concerning causes, taxonomy, and consequences of greenwashing behaviors in several different industries such as the gas industry [12][13][14], automobile industry [6], finance industry [15,16], hospitality industry [9,[17][18][19], education industry [20], electronics industry [7,[21][22][23], etc. However, there are few studies on greenwash behavior in the food industry, particularly in developing countries.…”

Islamic Social Bank: An Adaptation of Islamic Banking?

“…The idea of providing financial assistance for socioeconomic development has already begun since the 1960s as noted from the Malaysian and Egyptian stories. Only two decades later, the concept of social banking as a new banking system was introduced in the West (Mayo 2001;Relaño 2011). Sairally (2007) discovered that it took another decade before the social banking system spread widely to the United States, Europe and the rest of the world.…”

“…This unique banking system is a community financing centre that measures profitability through financial and social returns. The definition of a social bank according to Weber and Duan (2012), Relaño (2011), Weber and Remer (2011), Mayo (2001), Mayo and Guene (2001) and Reifner (2001): the practice of financial institutions that gives priority to social outcomes and positive impact of their financial activities to society, the environment, culture and/or sustainable development. As reported in Gartner (Social Banking: It's All About the Money and Customer Focus 2009), social banking deems more than that: …an emerging approaches to retail banking that makes depositing, lending and the connections between depositors, borrowers and financial institutions transparent.…”

“…The goal of social banking is twofold; on one hand, it acts as a basic traditional banking, which demands profit orientation and cost cutting as its main economic activities. On the other hand, it seeks to comply with the non-material values that involve social and moral commitments (Reifner 2001: 198;Relaño 2011). Within such an operative paradigm, the main purpose of social banking is to uphold social solidarity.…”

Responsabilidade social e estratégia em instituições financeiras públicas e privadas

“…Apesar de crises financeiras, as instituições bancárias são detentoras dos maiores recordes de lucro nos últimos tempos em muitos países (CASTELO BRANCO; DELGADO, 2011;KPMG, 2011;RELAÑO, 2011). …”